The Atlantis Project (revised)
by Phenreer
Summary: Jack Dawe, the best friend of Milo Thatch, goes on the adventure of a lifetime. When Milo gets called off to the Whitmore Mansion to help guide the expedition for the lost city of Atlantis, Jack finds himself drug along with him. A story full of tragedies, adventures, and backstabbing, this revised twist on the original story will hopefully entertain and amuse you.


Chapter 1

Jack awoke with a start and sat up. Drool covered his arm where he'd been laying on it. His stubble beard itched and his eyes burned. _I really need to lay off the booze._ As he stretched, he looked up and saw Milo's disapproving stare.

"_Shit. Fell asleep. Again._" He thought wearily. He gave his friend a sheepish shrug and his best smile. His smile could send girls into a horny tornado of embarrassment and blushing, but unfortunately Milo wasn't a girl, or gay. He shook his head with disappointment at Jack and slumped into a chair near the chalkboard. The broom cupboard that the museum had given him as an office was set up to look like the room where he would be proposing his expedition to the board. Jack was there was to help his best friend to practice it and critique him. He for a moment he felt guilty about sleeping. But only just a moment.

"How am I supposed to get the Museum Board to listen to my proposal if I can't even get my best friend to listen?!" Milo moaned. His messy brown hair was unkempt, much like his clothes. They looked slept in. His eyes however, didn't look like he slept at all. Even though he looked tired, he was clearly excited, or maybe scared. Jack did his best to recall what Milo had been talking about before he clocked out.

"I was listening!" Jack said sarcastically defensive. Milo pushed his round glasses to the tip of his nose and gave him a flat stare. "You were saying something about a shield, and a picture book and, other shit." Milo's head made a loud thump as it hit the chalkboard behind him. Jack grinned.

"The shield is the key to finding the book, _the Shepherd's Journal_," Milo articulated the title, "and the book is the key to finding Atlantis. What we need to do is go to Iceland and retrieve the journal."

"Well you say a lot of boring stuff. I can't remember every damn thing." Jack retorted. Suddenly, the phone rang in the back of the room. Milo took off, stumbling over boxes and papers. The blackboard stood in between him and the phone. He flipped it over and slid over it.

"Cartography and Linguistics, Milo Thatch speaking!" He answered full of excitement. His excitement faded quickly. He mumbled a few things into the phone, climbed over to the boiler in the far corner, twisted a few knobs, smacked it with a wrench, and hopped back to the phone. He mumbled some more and hung up.

"I'm guessing that was the board calling to tell you about how excited they are for your presentation this afternoon?" Jack joked. Milo scoffed. People in the building often called him and angrily told him to fix the boiler so the heating would work. One of Milo's biggest faults was that he would get his hopes up way too high, just to have them crash down on him more times than not.

"That was the Gertrude upstairs; said the boiler was acting up again." Jack nodded to himself. That was Milo's primary purpose, fixing the machine when it started to get cold outside. He would never admit it, but it was the truth. Looking at the clock, Milo's glumness left in a flash, replaced by an excited, nervous smile.

"It's about that time. I'm finally getting out of the dungeon! Are you just gonna sit there or are you going to help?" Milo exclaimed as he rushed to gather his papers and maps. Jack took a moment to say a silent prayer for him. He knew that MIlo was only going to get embarrassed and humiliated. He looked over and saw Milo gazing at his grandfather's adventuring helmet. Even from across the room, Jack could see his face beaming with pride, and a little sadness. It had always been too big to fit on him. Jack barked a laugh when it slid down over his face.

"Just like old times." Jack mumbled to himself as he got up and started grabbing papers and loading them into his friend's arms. A package made a thump as it fell down into Milo's tiki themed mailbox. Milo dumped the papers back into Jack's unexpected arms, causing him to drop most of them. Milo had to hold the helmet up because it was covering his eyes.

"Dear Mr. Thatch," Milo read aloud, "your meeting has been moved from 4:30 pm to 3:30 pm." They made eye contact, both of them with confused expressions. Another package fell down the tube. Milo tentatively took it out and read it.

"Dear Mr. Thatch, due to your absence the board has voted to reject your proposal. Have a good weekend. Mr. Harcourt's office." Jack shook his head. _What assholes!_ He caught a glance of Milo's furious face and he knew there was going to be trouble.

"They can't do this to me!" He shouted. Jack dropped the papers on the table and stood in front of the staircase door.

"Milo, listen. Don't do anything stupid. I don't want to have to bail you out of prison." Milo didn't seem to hear him. He was muttering angrily and rushing around to collect all of his research.

"I'll show them. I'll make them hear me!" Jack groaned. He was about to do something stupid, and nobody was going to talk him out of it. _I could knock him out._ Jack debated the thought for a minute before rejecting it. Milo would just do it later. There was no stopping him.

Milo brushed past him quickly and ran up the stairs. Jack tried to keep up, but his left leg made it difficult. Before his accident, Jack had been a top tier athlete. Now, it was difficult to walk up stairs, let alone run up them. _Fucking leg! _He hobbled as quickly as he could after his friend.

By the time he got up the two flights of stairs, he was sweating heavily and breathing hard. It was very taxing for him to move that fast. The doctor told him that a cane would make walking easier, but he refused stubbornly. He wasn't some old fuck with back problems! Just because his knee got messed up in a freak car accident didn't mean he was a cripple.

He could hear Milo shouting through the tall marble halls. Doors slammed loudly. _Wimpy old fuckers._ They didn't even have the balls to talk to Milo. Milo! All five foot eight, a hundred and twenty pounds of him! It was almost funny, thinking about those fat old men running around with their rich suits and top hats. Any other time, Jack would've laughed. But right now he needed to stop Milo from committing career suicide.

He followed the trail of discarded papers until he got outside. Stumbling down the front steps, Jack tried to see where Milo had run off to. The steps were still slick and wet from the rain earlier that day, causing Jack's bad leg to slip.

"Shit!" Jack yelled as he fell face first into a muddy puddle. His gray janitor's uniform was soaked. He slowly climbed up and shook the water from his hands. _Milo I swear I am going to kill you for this._

Milo was sitting on the curb when Jack finally found him. They were both wet and miserable.

"What the hell were you thinking? Running after him like that? You are gonna get yourself fired." Jack said angrily. Milo just sat there silent, staring at a water puddle. "Hello! Earth to Milo!"

"I resigned." Milo said dumbly. Jack sat down next to him.

"Really? Damn." They sat silently next to each other for a minute.

"You know, I really got my hopes up. I thought this was my chance to follow in Grandpa's footsteps." Milo said sadly. Jack grimaced. He hated talking about feelings, unless of course it was to get into a girl's pants.

"Look, let's just go back to the apartment and clean up. After that we'll go out to the bar and get fucked up. Sound good?" Milo nodded glumly. Jack stood and raised his hand. "Taxi!"

Chapter 2

Jack paid the cabby and they got out. He hobbled after Milo up to their shared apartment. It was a really shitty place, but it was what they could afford. Milo struggled to unlock the door. It was a pain in the ass getting it open. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was raining heavily and lightning out.

"Come on open the fucking door! I'm freezing cold." Jack demanded jokingly as he shivered.

"I'm trying! Get off my back." Milo finally managed to open it and they slogged in, dripping muddy water all over the floor. He tried to turn on the light but the power was out. "Of course."

Jack took off his shirt and hung it on the coat rack. He rubbed his abs and smiled. He was a good looking man, with short black hair, cut jaw, and an amazing body. _Hey guys. Wanna help me get laid tonight?_ Milo called out for his cat in the dark.

"I'm home. Fluffy? Here kitty."

"Milo James Thatch?" A woman appeared in a flash of lightning. Jack and Milo both jumped in surprise. She was young, maybe a year or two older than himself. She wore a fur coat and a fuzzy fur hat. Her red lipstick stood out from the dark and dreary apartment.

"Who… who are you? How did you get in here?" Milo demanded. His demanding voice sounded a lot like a whining dog.

"I came down the chimney. Ho, ho, ho. My name is Helga Sinclair. I'm acting on behalf of my employer who has a most intriguing proposition for you. Are you interested?" Her voice was deeper than a normal girls and it had more raspiness to it. It was a huge turn on.

"Your, your employer? Who is your employer?" Milo stammered, obviously taken aback by her general sluttiness and flirty way of talking. Jack knew he had to step in.

"What my friend is trying to get at is, oh and I'm Jack by the way thanks for asking, is that it's been a real long day and we are very tired and really need to go get drunk. So if you aren't going to get naked now I suggest you leave." Helga didn't even acknowledge him. She continued looking at Milo and biting her finger seductively.

"I work for Mr. Whitmore." She stopped there, assuming that he would know what that meant. Apparently Milo did because his jaw dropped.

"Uh, who the fuck is Mr. Whitmore?"

They got out of Helga's car and walked up to a huge mansion. The ride was long and bumpy. Whoever this Whitmore fellow was, he didn't like visitors. The trip had been extremely awkward. Helga's previous flirtatiousness was gone and replaced by a kind of bitchy drill sergeant type attitude. Still a turn on in Jack's eyes. Nobody spoke the entire time.

The large doors creaked as the butler opened them. The inside of the mansion was just as extravagant as the outside was. There were lots of fancy rugs on the floor, paintings on the walls, and creepy ass suits of armor. As cluttered as it was, it felt very empty to Jack. He looked over at his friend who was wandering behind Helga, staring wide eyed at everything.

"Stop staring! Jeez it's like you've never been in a mansion before." Jack joked softly.

"I haven't been in a mansion before," He whispered back, "and you haven't either so shut up."

"That's not true. I banged the Governor's daughter once in their mansion." Milo shook his head and Jack smiled. It always made Milo awkward when Jack talked about his sexual exploits. He never took advantage of the women. He always left them satisfied and before breakfast.

"This way, please." Helga said annoyedly. "And don't drip on the Caravaggio. Step lively. Mr. Whitmore does not like to be kept waiting." She led the two of them to an elevator and closed the gate. Jack saw that Milo was sweating badly and his hands were twitching nervously.

"So what is this? Is it a cult thing where you sacrifice us to the goddess of death?" Jack joked. Milo chuckled nervously, but stopped when he saw Helga's face. _This chick must never smile._ She turned to Milo and grabbed his collar to straighten it.

"You will address him as Mr. Whitmore or Sir. You will stand unless asked to be seated. Keep your sentences short and to the point. Are we clear?" Milo gulped nervously. The elevator jerked to a stop and the doors opened, allowing Milo to step out. "And relax. He doesn't bite, often." Jack started after him but Helga closed the gates and started the elevator back down.

"Whoa what the hell! Let me off." Jack ordered, trying to reach the button himself. She suddenly grabbed his outstretched arm and twisted it behind his back. She held it tightly and forced him up against the side. She leaned in close to his ear as she shoved his face into the metal grates.

"Do not tell me what to do. Milo is who we want, not you." She whispered threateningly. Jack groaned in pain as she torqued it in a way it wasn't supposed to go. "Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." Jack said in mock seriousness. She scoffed and pushed him away, taking a moment to compose herself. He rubbed his arm and turned to face her. He was very good at reading people. It was kind of his gift. He could see through her mean, bitchy attitude. Underneath all of that was a smart, sensual woman. Even with her face contorted in a frown he could tell she was very beautiful. Her black dress hung loosely around her shoulders, leaving very little to the imagination.

"You know you aren't as charming as you think you are." She said bluntly. Jack gave her his best smile.

"I do okay." He winked seductively. She harrumphed and rolled her eyes. As she turned her head, he noticed that she was blushing slightly. The elevator came to a stop back on the first floor where they came in.

"Alright off you go. Hans will show you out." Helga opened the gate and gestured him out. He started to go and stopped.

"Look. Milo is my best friend. Well my only friend. And I am not going to leave him alone with a bunch of strangers. I mean look at the guy. A toddler could overpower him." She smirked slightly at that before returning stone faced, but it wasn't as hard now.

"Fine, if you want to stay you can wait in the lobby until they are finished." Helga pushed him out and closed the gate again. Jack found a bench and sat down on it. _What are they talking about up there?_ He fought the urge to try and sneak up to listen in on the conversation, but it would be difficult with his bum leg. It was like hauling around a piece of wood on the end of his knee. He leaned back against the wall and waited. After about twenty minutes, The elevator came back down with Milo and Helga in it. Milo's face was a mixture of astonishment and excitement.

"Jack! You'll never guess what just happened!" Milo said with vigour. In his hand was a book. He shoved it up in Jack's face. "Grandpa found the Shepherd's Journal! It was in Iceland just like I said it was! I was right!" Jack smiled and clasped his friend on the shoulder.

"Your grandfather would be proud." Milo nodded and tears started welling up in his eyes. "Oh come on man, don't do that." Milo sniffed loudly and laughed. "So now what?"

Helga interrupted their conversation. "Milo is to report at the docks by tomorrow morning. The expedition is set to leave tomorrow afternoon." Jack looked at her in disbelief. He turned to Milo, who was still shaking with excitement.

"What is she talking about?" Jack asked.

"We are going to find Atlantis."

Chapter 3

Milo didn't sleep all night, which kept Jack up as well. He was constantly pacing around the apartment and going over his research. Apparently he was going to have to give a presentation to the crew about the mission. All of Milo's practicing for the museum seemed to have disappeared from his memory.

"Milo for fuck's sake. Calm down." Jack said annoyedly. Milo didn't pause his pacing or muttering. He was lost in his own world. "MILO!" He turned around and looked at Jack like a deer in headlights.

"Jack I'm freaking out. I don't know if I can do this." Jack rolled out of bed and grabbed his friend on the shoulder. He shook him violently.

"Snap out of it! This is literally what you've been dreaming of." Milo nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah I know. I just feel bad about leaving you here." Jack felt a surge of sadness. He was going to miss him, but he would never let Milo see that.

"Really? I won't miss you." He said jokingly. Milo smirked slightly. Outside, the cab to take Milo down to the docks showed up. The driver came up to the door and knocked on it. Milo's eyes widened suddenly.

"Come with me. I don't want to be alone with these people." Milo panicked.

"I'll go down to the docks with you but that's it." Jack rushed around looking for some clothes. He found a pair of jeans and a plain white shirt. The cab driver knocked on the door again but much harder this time.

"Be right out!" Milo yelled. "Hurry up!" Jack grabbed a coat and rushed out after Milo.

They got into the car and headed down to the docks. Milo spend the whole drive jabbering about the Shepherd's Journal. Jack only half listened. He had a strange feeling in his gut about the expedition, like something just wasn't right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Also, he didn't want to ruin the opportunity for Milo so he kept his silence on the matter. They arrived at the docks to see an enormous ship being loaded up with supplies. Jack stared in amazement at the shear size of it. Milo was equally amazed.

There was an old man standing on the docks next to a very large, military looking man. Jack figured that the old man had to by the Whitmore fellow. He was wearing a captains uniform or something. His white hair was hidden underneath a hat. He had a slightly crazy look to him, but not a bad crazy. It was just an old man crazy. Jack and Milo walked up to them.

"Milo! Where you been? I want you to meet Commander Rourke. He led the Iceland team that brought the Journal back." Mr. Whitmore patted Rourke on the chest with his cane. He was very tall and broad. He had very chiseled features and graying hair. His green uniform was freshly pressed. The man was truly impressive.

"Milo Thatch." Rourke smiled and shook Milo's hand. "Pleasure to meet the grandson of old Thaddeus. See you got that journal. Nice pictures, but I prefer a good western myself." The man had a commanding voice. A voice that made you feel safe, but Jack had a strange feeling about him. The whole "nice guy" persona looked way to rehearsed. His smiles never made it to his eyes either. It was all just a show, and Jack knew it. There was something dark about that man.

Mr. Whitmore elbowed Milo. "Pretty impressive, eh?" Milo nodded vigorously.

"Boy when you settle a bet, you, you settle a bet." He said with an awkward chuckle. Mr. Whitmore smiled.

"Well, your granddad always believed you couldn't put a price on the pursuit of knowledge." Jack stood further back from them, analyzing the whole situation. He had a bad feeling about the Rourke that he couldn't shake. His phony smile was about as convincing as the old man wearing a captains uniform. The whole thing felt off, the expedition, the people, everything.

"Believe me, this will be small change compared to the value of what we are going to learn on this trip." Milo said excitedly.

"Yes. This should be enriching for all of us." Rourke said. Jack really didn't like him. He struggled not to glare at him. He was so fake it was sickening, and nobody else seemed to see it. The two older men started talking to one another for a moment when Jack tugged Milo away.

"Jack, isn't this amazing?" Jack shook his head.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Jack whispered urgently. Milo raised his eyebrow at him.

"You're just saying that because you are going to miss me." Milo joked.

"I'm serious. I don't like giant Mr. Commander what's-his-face." Milo shook his head.

"You're just jealous that you'll never break six foot tall." A voice came over the intercom system. It was a gravelly, old lady voice who sounded like she smoked three packs a day.

"All hands enter the launch bay." Milo looked excitedly around as everyone hustled into the large ship.

"Well it's about that time. Take care of my cat for me!" _Fuck your cat. _Milo backpedaled as he waved goodbye and boarded. Jack waved back half-heartedly. Something did feel wrong. The whole thing seemed to be militarized. It didn't feel like an expedition into the unknown.

Dozens of people rushed around him carrying boxes and bags onto the large ship. Jack had already lost sight of Milo in the crowd. _Damn it. _Milo wouldn't last a day on his own. He made a split decision to follow his friend into the unknown. But first he needed to get on the ship.

Jack looked around for a way in. There were several men in military fatigues rushing to load the last of the crates on board. He walked briskly, or as briskly as a guy with a busted knee could, and picked one up. It was surprisingly heavy. He grunted and started toward the boat. After one step, a burst of pain shot from his knee. Jack shouted in pain. The wooden box dropped on it's side and the top came off and military rifles tumbled out. A dozen or so Lee-Enfield Mk IIIs. _Why does an exploratory mission need this much firepower?_

"Need a hand?" Jack looked back and saw a cute young Mexican girl. She was wearing a white long sleeved shirt and coveralls. When she saw Jack's face, her large red lips twisted into an awkward smile. She looked like she was barely eighteen years old, but she carried herself with the kind of confidence that Jack admired in women. He really did need help, but he would be damned if he looked weak to whoever this girl was.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Jack said, gesturing toward the red toolbox she carried effortlessly. She raised her eyebrow at him and placed a hand on her waist. She was surprisingly curvy. Jack gave his best smile and she chuckled. Setting down her load, she bent down next to Jack and helped shove them back into the box. She was wearing heavy welding gloves. _Very ladylike._

"There you go." She said grabbing her load again.

"Thank you ma'am." Jack said with a grunt, lifting the box as best he could. He cursed as he had to set it down again in pain. He looked over embarrassed at the girl.

"You aren't part of the crew are you?" She asked rhetorically. Jack smirked.

"What gave me away?"

"Well for one, you aren't dressed right. Two, you can't carry a damn box. And three, you are way too good looking for this kind of work." She blushed slightly as if she hadn't meant to say that last part. Jack gave his best "smolder" look with a slightly raised eyebrow, causing her to turn an even deeper shade of red. _This might be my way in._

"Okay you caught me. I'm just looking for a little adventure. And a little, company,, if the opportunity were to arise." She laughed at him. She gave him with a mischievous look before holding her gloved hand out.

"I'm Audrey." Jack grabbed it and shook it firmly.

"Jack." After a short pause he continued. "I don't suppose you could help me out with either of those things I mentioned before?"

She smirked slightly. "We'll see. Come on. You can be my assistant." She beckoned him to follow her onto the ship. Her hips swung to and fro in a very seductive way.

"As you wish." Jack said with a bow. She turned and led the way inside the large metal machine. _Well. Here goes nothing._

Chapter 4

Since he was technically a stowaway, Jack did his best to seem like he belonged there. After helping Audrey haul the boxes in he made his way through the ship and into the sleeping area. After a while of wandering he eventually found it. The hallways were very tight, making walking around people difficult. It was already hard enough to walk. The swaying ship and the packed halls weren't helping any.

The ship was even bigger than it seemed from the outside. Finding Milo was going to be a chore, especially since he didn't have the slightest idea how ships were laid out. Jack saw a fellow standing in the doorway to one of the rooms. He was a very large black man, at least six foot six, and very buff. His bald head was nearly touching the ceiling.

"Hello there." He said in a deep, booming voice. Jack gave him a nod and tried to walk by. "Something bothering your leg?" Jack groaned inwardly. He hated when people mentioned his leg.

"I'm fine." At that moment the ship hit a large wave and Jack put too much pressure on his left leg and collapsed. "Fucking boat!" Jack cursed loudly as he rubbed his leg on the floor.

"Here let me help you up. My name is Sweet by the way, Joshua Sweet." He reached down and grabbed Jack's arm. Jack grimaced as he stood back up.

"Thanks. I'm Jack." He brushed himself off, trying to regain a shred of dignity.

"I'm the medical officer on this venture. What's the matter? He asked, gesturing to Jack's leg.

"Car accident. Somebody ran my leg over and screwed up my knee. It just hurts now." Sweet nodded concerned looking.

"Well you look like you could use a rest. Why don't you sit down for a bit." Before Jack could decline, he was practically drug inside and sat on a small chair. He stretched his leg and rubbed it. "So what's your deal Jack? Why are you here?" Jack swallowed hard. _There's no way he knows I'm not supposed to be here._

"I'm the mechanic's assistant." Jack said.

"Oh so you work with Audrey. Well it seems that we will be working together." Sweet said with a large smile. "Nice girl, and a damn good mechanic."

"So who else will I need to know." Jack said, still trying to keep up the ruse. All he wanted to know was where Milo was.

"Commander Rourke is the man in charge. He's led all of our expeditions so far. Helga is second in command. Don't mess with her. She can kill you with almost anything." He winked to show that he was kidding. Jack smiled, but deep down didn't doubt it. She was scary. "There is Vinny, he's our demolition expert. He might actually be crazy, the jury is still out on that. Um, you've already met Audrey. There's Mole. You'll just have to meet him. Packard is our communications expert. Cookie is the chef. Fitting name right? Oh yeah and there's Milo. New guy. Nervous looking fellow, but he seems to know what he's talking about. I think that's everybody."

"Is that all?" Jack said sarcastically. Sweet laughed a booming laugh.

"I like you. We'll get along fine. Do you need anything?" Jack swallowed. This was his chance to get to Milo and check on him. _There is no way he is getting along with these people._

"I wouldn't mind meeting this Milo fellow. Could you introduce me?" Sweet gave him a questioning look. _That was a little too obvious._ "I've always had a passion for history and he seems like a competent person." _Nailed it. Dipshit!_ He scolded himself inwardly.

"If I see him I'll send him your way." Sweet didn't seem to buy Jack's story, but was willing to help anyway. It was probably the whole cripple thing. "You stay here and rest. It's dangerous enough on this boat, especially if you are impaired." _I'm not impaired you asshole!_ Instead of saying that, he gave a strained smile and nodded. Sweet left the room, leaving Jack in the tight living quarters. There were two bunk beds and a small table, but not much else. Jack scooted over onto the bed. There was no point in going out to look for Milo. The ship was huge and his leg did hurt. _I'll just rest for a bit._ He closed his eyes and before he knew it, he fell asleep.

After a few hours he woke up. His leg ached. He rubbed it and groaned slightly. The small room was empty. Jack rolled off the bed and made his way out the little doorway. The hustle and bustle wasn't nearly as bad as it had been before, so he decided to go and look for Milo again.

Luckily for him, Jack didn't get sea sick easily. He'd only been out on the ocean a few times with Milo and his grandfather as kids. Milo almost always got sick. _Oh right! He's probably puking his guts out._ He made his way out of the lodging areas and out onto the side. The fresh sea air was a pleasant change from stale air inside the ship. He looked out into the distance. There was no land in sight. He'd never been this far from home. For a moment he felt homesick, but only a moment. A beautiful blonde haired girl walked by and smiled slightly at him. Jack smiled back and winked. She giggled and quickened her step.

He followed her up onto the upper deck of the ship. She had a very nice ass, which made the journey worth the pain in his leg. Once he was at the top, he searched the railings for his friend. Jack smiled broadly when he saw his friend Milo curled around the metal bars. He looked miserable. Just as Jack got to him, Milo jumped up and vomited violently. His head moved so hard that his glasses flew off his face. Jack lunged forward and caught them before they fell into the ocean.

"Carrots? Why is it always carrots? I didn't even eat Carrots!" Milo muttered to himself.

"You seem to be doing well." Milo jumped in surprise. He hadn't noticed Jack come up and save his glasses from being lost forever.

"Jack! What the hell are you doing here?!" Milo exclaimed.

"Well nice to see you too." Jack said smugly. _Not even a thank you. Tsk tsk tsk._ He handed Milo his glasses back.

"Thanks. But seriously man, why are you here." Jack didn't want to tell him that it was because he was worried about him. That would be gay. Instead he lied.

"I was actually asked to come with after you already got on board. Somebody named, uh, Audrey I think, needed help doing mechanic stuff." Jack cringed inwardly at his execution of the lie. _You're better than that._

"Mechanic stuff?" Milo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Mechanic stuff."

"Just admit it. You were gonna miss me." Milo laughed. Jack joined him and they grabbed each others' hands bro-style. "I gotta say I'm glad to see you. These people are scary."

"Yeah it looks like a real operation they got here. You sure you're up for this particular brand of mission?" Milo stood tall and "heroic".

"Of course I am!" Jack nodded satirically and grabbed Milo's glasses.

"Dude what the fuck?" Milo exclaimed. As soon as he finished saying that his face turned green and he lost his lunch again.

"Oh this is going to be a fun adventure." Jack laughed as Milo moaned in discomfort.

Chapter 5

The next few weeks blew by as they journeyed to the drop off point. Milo was so busy planning for the expedition that he didn't have time to hang out with Jack. For a while he waited around for him, but Milo was just too busy. Instead, Jack began to hang out with Audrey. They had an interesting relationship. He would flirt with her, she would flirt back, but it never went further than that. Normally it would start to get annoying, but he didn't mind. He genuinely liked being around her.

They were down in the depths of the ship working on some vehicles. He didn't know the first thing about anything mechanical, so he was just the "tool boy", as Audrey warmly referred to him as.

"Hey tool boy! Grab me a 1/4in, 3/8in, and 1/2in ratchet." Audrey shouted from her crouched position down by the tire of the truck they were working on. Jack looked around in the toolbox dumbly.

"Uh. What exactly are those again?" Jack yelled back. He could hear her cursing and muttering in Spanish as she got up. Her face was covered with oil and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her face said she was very annoyed with him, which only made him grin more.

"I just fucking showed you! Were you even listening?" She berated him angrily.

"I'll be honest, I was just looking at your ass the whole time." She put her hand on her hip and gave him the middle finder. She tried to stay straight faced, but as she turned toward the box he saw her start to smile.

"You really are a worthless assistant." She mocked jokingly.

"I'm mostly just here for emotional support. And, other duties if the need arises." Jack said rubbing her shoulders. She leaned her head back as he gave her a brief massage.

"Eh, I guess I'll keep you." She said breathily, clearly enjoying herself.

"So how long until we actually dive?" Jack asked. He let go of her shoulders and she took the tools back to the tire she'd been working on.

"Tomorrow is the plan, if that Milo guy was right on the bridge." She said as she focused on loosening the nuts on the flat tire. Milo had been working on the presentation for the past two weeks. Unbenoiced to him, Jack put an embarrassing picture slide of him at the beach in his leviathan slide show. _God I hope he used that picture!_

Jack felt a flutter of excitement. The journey was about to begin. When he first decided to stow away, he hadn't even thought about enjoying himself. The only thing he wanted was to make sure Milo was going to be okay. But now he was invested in it himself. He was, after all, the assistant to the head mechanic on a corporate funded scientific expedition.

"Are you excited?" Jack asked, handing her the wrench she was reaching for.

"Uh yeah. I'm just worried about the Digger. I don't know how well it's going to work down there." She tossed the wrench back to him and handed him several nuts.

"Didn't they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on that thing? Why wouldn't it work?"

"It should work, but there has never been a machine like it made before. I just don't want the team to blame me if it does break down." She sounded a little nervous when she said that.

"Why would they blame you? I mean you are the mechanic and all but you can't control everything." She shook her head. She shoved the lift underneath the truck and started pumping it up.

"Okay it's not so much the team I'm worried about. Mostly just Rourke." She struggled to boost it up so Jack jumped in and helped.

"What is his deal exactly?" Jack asked. Audrey hushed her tone, as if he would hear them talking about him.

"Well, he's not as nice as he seems when you first meet him. He hates when people undermine his authority. And if he is yelling at you for something, even if it isn't your fault, shut up and take it. Don't fight with him. He will win." Her serious tone seemed to have a twinge of fear in it. Jack looked at her concerned.

"Did you learn that from experience?" She nodded.

"We were on the Iceland expedition to get that dumb book. One of our vehicles blew a tire and it took me a while to get it changed because of the mud we were in. It couldn't have held up the group for more than five minutes, but Rourke cussed me out in front of everybody. It… it was really embarrassing." She looked a little ashamed as she told Jack her story. Jack wanted to say that it wasn't her fault and that she shouldn't let it get to her, but he knew a thing or two about women. Usually they just wanted someone to listen to them. After a bit of that, it usually turned into hot sex, but he wasn't as interested in that part.

"I'm sorry. That must have been tough." Audrey and Jack continued to lift the truck up into the air until she could slide it off.

"Yeah. It doesn't help that nobody takes me seriously anyway. They all just think I'm a kid. Well, everyone except you that is." She turned her head slightly toward him and smiled. Jack smiled back.

"Yeah well that's because you have big jugs." She scoffed and looked at him in disbelief.

"I'm sorry. What was that?" Jack pretended that he had just made a gaffe.

"Uh.. I mean that's because your boobs are huge!" Her mouth dropped even lower and burst out laughing.

"Oh my god. Seriously you are twelve." She shook her head and started putting the new tire on. Jack scooted closer to her and started to "help" her move it. He reached across her face to grab the opposite side. They were very close to each other as he struggled to get a better grip.

"Here lemme help you with that." Jack mumbled as they both fumbled around trying to move the big rubber wheel. She laughed again as he kept making it worse and worse. "Oops. Sorry. Maybe… maybe if I get behind you." He sat himself right behind her on the bench and pressed himself tightly to her back and reached under her arms and tried again. Her laughter echoed in the large loading bay as he knocked her hat off.

"Jack! Stop it!" She laughed. Jack continued to struggle for a few more moments before stopping. His experience with women had given him a good sense of when to stop a joke. He started to move his leg to stop straddling her, but she put her gloved hand on it to stop him. She turned her head as far as she could without turning her body. Her deep brown eyes looked up into his green eyes. A bead of sweat ran down her neck, but it wasn't because of the room, which was rather chilly. Her skin was covered in goosebumps. She bit her lip unconsciously and kept looking at Jack's.

This was a common occurrence for him. The women that he courted almost always ended up in situations like that, but he would never do it just to take advantage of them. He had too much respect for them to just pump and dump. When he decided to make a move on a girl it was because he wanted her to enjoy herself just as much as he would.

Jack keep her gaze and tightened his legs around her waist slightly. Her breath grew faster. He took his right hand and caressed her cheek. She shuddered a little bit when he did that. Then he tilted his head to the side and kissed her. Her large lips met his and they held that for a little bit. _Has she never kissed a guy before?_ She seemed fairly inexperienced in doing so, which was fine. He'd been with his fair share of first timers. _Better start off easy._ He kissed her in short little spurts. After each one she panted almost breathlessly. He mimicked her quiet panting in order to make her feel less self conscious.

After a few minutes of kissing, Jack pulled back slowly. Audrey's dark brown hair fell over part of her face. She breathed heavily and looked at him. She smiled awkwardly and started to blush.

"Wow. Um. That was uh, nice." She stammered. Jack chuckled as her face turned even redder. Jack reached up and moved her hair behind her ear. She lay her head into his hand as he moved it back onto her cheek again and kissed her deeply one last time.

"Yeah. Yeah you were, im mean it was." He stammered back. She giggled and blushed less. He moved to sit beside her as she continued to breath heavy. He picked her hat up from where he knocked it off and placed it back on her head.

"We should, we should do that again sometime."

"Yeah we should." Jack said with a smile. They finished putting the tire back on in relative silence, except for her occasional asking for tools. Jack was relieved that she didn't talk to him differently afterwards. Sometimes girls would start acting different after he did things with them. It didn't seem like Audrey would be like the others.

When they finished the job, Audrey said that she needed to go and work on some other stuff, but Jack should go and get packed. She clearly needed time alone to process what had just happened. Jack made his way out of the garage area and back to the living quarters. _That was nice. She's gotta be a virgin. Better take this slow ol' chap!_ He chuckled to himself and walked back into his room. Before he could walk through, the entire ship lurched violently. Jack felt his head hit the metal doorway as he fell down. The sound of alarms and bright red lights were the last thing he remembered before everything went black.


End file.
